"Waaah~ Lumine, is my face swollen? My tooth hurts so much."
"Paimon, Xiangling told you not to eat anything too cold, and you still went and had a popsicle. Now look what happened—it's definitely inflamed again. Come on, let's go to Bubu Pharmacy."
Paimon followed behind Lumine with her head down, clutching her swollen cheek. Xiangling, who needed to buy some lotus pods for cooking, joined them with Guoba.
On the way, Guoba let out a series of "Lulu lulu" sounds that sounded suspiciously like laughter. Paimon was furious. If her tooth didn't hurt so much, she would have bitten him to show him who's boss.
"It's... it's you. What's wrong?"
From behind the counter, Qiqi tilted her head in confusion. A female voice also came from Baizhu, who was organizing herbs nearby.
"Oh? Rare visitors. You don't seem too busy today? How about helping us gather some herbs? I'm sure you won't be disappointed with the compensation."
"Really? Wait, how did Baizhu's voice change like that?"
Despite the tooth pain, the mention of compensation snapped Paimon back to attention. Perhaps the pain had sharpened her mind—she had noticed something off about Baizhu's voice.
"Hey, look at the neck."
"Oh, it's you, Changsheng."
Changsheng, coiled around Baizhu's neck, shot Paimon a glare. But before Paimon could say anything, Changsheng suddenly remembered something and spoke excitedly.
"Wait, you're not taking Qiqi out to play again, are you? No way! Last time you took her to Dragonspine, Baizhu nearly worked himself to death."
"Calm down, Changsheng. We're not here to take Qiqi out this time. We're here for Paimon's checkup."
Seeing Changsheng getting more agitated, her sharp fangs already visible, Lumine quickly pushed Paimon forward.
"Um, Lumine, maybe we should just go see Albedo instead. I feel like Changsheng's looking at me strangely..."
Paimon shrank back nervously. She had a bad feeling Changsheng might take revenge while treating her.
"Haha, Changsheng, stop scaring Paimon. So you're here for little Paimon's tooth, right? Open up and let me have a look."
After packing up the herbs, Baizhu examined Paimon's teeth carefully. After a moment, he asked curiously:
"Little Paimon, what did you eat? Your teeth seem much harder than an ordinary person's, yet one of them has a crack. That's incredible."
"Um, she ate this."
To give Baizhu a clearer picture, Lumine summoned the Salted Fish Greatsword. Baizhu's face twitched at the sight of the half-person-sized salted fish. This clearly wasn't meant to be eaten. Maybe Paimon's problem wasn't just her teeth. He decided to prescribe some brain-boosting herbs as well.
"Though I'm not sure what kind of creature Paimon is, the only treatment I can offer is to extract the tooth and prescribe some anti-inflammatory medicine."
"Huh? Paimon doesn't want to lose a tooth! Baizhu, isn't there another way?"
"I'm afraid not. The crack is too severe. If we don't extract it, the pain will persist."
Baizhu's expression was serious. Though he wasn't an expert in dental issues, he knew that a case as severe as Paimon's required extraction.
"Don't be sad, Paimon. Let's go see Albedo at Wangshu Inn. He has all kinds of神奇 alchemical potions—he might be able to fix your tooth."
Seeing Paimon's distress, Lumine tried to comfort her. Xiangling took the opportunity to state her purpose.
"Mr. Baizhu, I need to buy some fresh lotus pods. Also, I'm participating in the cooking competition and would like to ask you two—well, three—what kind of dishes you like to eat."
After asking everyone in the group chat, Xiangling had started asking her acquaintances in Liyue Harbor. Changsheng, hearing she was included, perked up.
"Smart girl. Sure, I'll help."
"Like... what dishes? Um... they're all the same. No taste."
Qiqi wasn't sure how to answer. As far as she could remember, everything tasted the same. Baizhu stepped in to explain.
"Qiqi has some issues with her sense of taste. She can't really distinguish flavors. Please forgive her."
"That's fine, I understand. But even so, Qiqi must have some preferences. I'd like to know what kind of texture she enjoys."
"Texture... touch? There is one."
"Cool and smooth... like coconut milk."
Xiangling looked at Qiqi expectantly. Qiqi's answer didn't surprise Lumine—she remembered the coconut milk incident.
"But coconut milk is a drink. Baizhu, Changsheng, what about you two? Any thoughts?"
Seeing Qiqi couldn't elaborate, Xiangling had to give up on getting an answer from her. At least Baizhu and Changsheng were more helpful.
"For me, any meat dish that's easy to eat is good. Just not too spicy—snakes don't react well to spice."
"I agree with Changsheng. Medicinal dishes, for example, are a good choice."
Baizhu placed several commonly used medicinal herbs on the counter to give Xiangling ideas. He hadn't done much research on medicinal cuisine, and his attempts always turned out terrible—even Qiqi, who couldn't taste anything, wouldn't eat them. He was hoping Xiangling could help improve the flavor.
"Those are great insights. Medicinal dishes focus more on balance than regular home cooking. I don't usually pay attention to that, but if I consider the balance between flavor and effect in this competition, it should add quite a few points. Thanks, Baizhu."
"Here, have two cups of Su Bai's special milk tea. Director Hu actually asked me to promote it at Wanmin Restaurant. If you like it, you can check near Wangsheng—I heard she's opening a milk tea shop there. I think Qiqi might enjoy it, since she likes coconut milk."
Qiqi took the milk tea Xiangling handed her. Seeing its darker color compared to coconut milk, she curiously took a small sip. A little ball came up through the straw and she bit into it.
"Sweet! Qiqi, Qiqi can taste something sweet!"